E Y E W E A R, THE BLOG - FREEDOM MEANS BEING UNAFRAID TO WRITE WHAT YOU THINK

Eyewear should probably vote with its higher purposes, and recommend The Tree of Life , which is one of the great American films of all time - however, as readers of this blog will know, no film moved or thrilled me so much this year as Drive , whose ultra-stylish 80s take on Shane made it an instant classic, in its own right, and turned slim-hipped, toothpick-toting, six-packed Ryan Gosling , Canadian, into a Paul Newman like icon for the new decade. So, Drive it is.  Please note, The Artist has not opened in the UK yet, as of time of writing.  Honourable mention must go to gross-out chucklefest Bridesmaids , a clever genre-busting buddy movie meets chick-flick that also had heart. Other comedies I enjoyed this year include Mr. Popper's Penguins (slight but zany), Cedar Rapids , Bad Teacher , and Horrible Bosses .   Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy , an early favourite, has, in memory, paled somewhat, as beautifully filmed, but slow and ponderous, with little characte...

The first musical quarter of 2011 is now over.  And, while many great acts loom just over the horizon, we can safely sum up the year so far.   Radiohead spluttered with a damp squib as did The Strokes .   Human League need to retire.   Duran Duran triumphed in the retro-game.  And the best song of the year so far is by an obscure American band, and about 9/11 - a decade late perhaps?  It is a measure of the year's strength that I have not selected Britney Spears, Blancmange, The Decemberists, Lykke Li, The Joy Formidable, Clare Maguire, White Lies, British Sea Power, Cloud Nothings, The Naked and the Famous, Breathe Owl Breathe, Beady Eye, James Blake, Ghostpoet , or Sister Crayon , just to mention a few of the fine artists of 2011 with great songs. 1. 'Boeing 737' - The Low Anthem It is hard to listen to this stirring folk song that one might sing in a Boston pub, without being reminded of the hardy spirit of the American people at their finest. ...

It has arrived.  We live in '11.  Can't wait.  The long lean twins of time now beckon us on, those exclamatory upright towers, those stick-insects, those little hooks, those slashes, those unslant rods, - elevenses, semblables, shadowing each other, offering little shade for us, skinny twig men, we welcome you!